The Beauty of Golden Betrayal

Pierce Brown is an expert in driving his readers to mild insanity. This sequel to Red Rising was intricately woven with so many plot twists, to the point that I sometimes found it hard to keep up with all the things that were happening.

Strangely, one of the best things I liked about this book was that it was practically a literary crash course in betrayal. While reading, I stopped myself from becoming too attached to Darrow’s “friends,” in fear that anyone of them would end up stabbing him in the back. The distinction between friend and foe was just so blurry and dynamic, and I experienced a dark sort of pleasure assuming the worst about the characters.

In the end, my suspicious and judgmental approach to the novel was justified. Although that killer of a last chapter lacerated both my mind and heart, I found myself grinning like a lunatic. Thank you Pierce Brown for this unforgettable ride of a novel.